


A Drop of Water

by RedSummerRose



Series: Red and Green [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: AU, F/M, Gen, Mentions other characters, Not Infinity War or Endgame Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-25
Updated: 2020-02-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:49:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22898275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedSummerRose/pseuds/RedSummerRose
Summary: In a story where those fighting against Thanos find themselves in the Soul Stone, a witch crosses path with a trickster.
Relationships: Wanda Maximoff and Loki, Wanda/Vision
Series: Red and Green [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1645864
Comments: 2
Kudos: 25





	A Drop of Water

**Author's Note:**

> This is something I just apparently needed to write down. Connected to my other work, Fundamental Chaos. This happens before the events of that story, and in a non-compliant IW and Endgame AU. 
> 
> Wanda and Loki friendship for life.

The pocket dimension hiding within the Soul Stone was an odd place, to put it lightly. Wanda wasn’t sure what would happen after she felt her body dissolve into ashes, but it wasn’t this. At first, whatever entity or power controlled this place, and she wasn’t sure it was Thanos, had tried putting her in some comfortable semblance of a better life. 

It was _home_ , in that intangible way that she couldn’t describe, but felt in her bones. She could hear Sam’s laughter in the distance, could smell the hot cocoa Natasha liked to make on the stovetop, laced with cinnamon, clove, and chilies. The softest strains of a guitar hummed in the background, mingling with birdsong and the chatter she remembered from the Avengers compound. 

Her heart ached for this peace, the family she’d found with people who carried the same kinds of wounds and the same desire to keep others safe. Steve’s gentle patience, Clint’s sense of humor, Natasha’s quiet understanding. Where Pietro was still a constantly moving presence at her shoulder, where Vision still breathed and smiled and said her name in a way that made her heart flutter. Where she hadn’t lost her family twice over.

Wanda hated to think she almost fell for it, if not for the swirls of scarlet pulling on metaphysical threads and showing this false world’s seams. It was something her brother always said that tore the fabric in two, reminded her exactly what was true and what wasn’t. 

“It wouldn’t be our lives if things were easy, sister.” That same inflection, the smirk audible in his voice, it brought her back. 

The sound rippled across the facade of deception and magic that wasn’t hers, causing hairline fractures in each echo. After that, it was easy to shatter. This foreign power that was so unlike her, but resonated with the same notes, the underlying hum of an Infinity Stone. 

Instead of the forests of Wakanda, the water seemed to ripple across every inch of this place, with no discernible source and no chance of finding refuge. The whole world was tinted in dusky shades of orange and yellow, the last hazy rays of a sunset before the world was shrouded in darkness. The aspect she found most disconcerting, was the idea that this place stretched on forever.  
  
It wasn’t possible, that she was the only one here, was it? Was the Soul Stone so sentient that it could take her and no one else? Whatever the answer, she wouldn’t find it by standing still. 

* * *

In his thousands of years of walking worlds, in millions of hours learning, borrowing or stealing knowledge, Loki learned that expectations were something to be subverted. The universe had few rules he couldn’t bend or break somehow, even if it came with a cost. When it came to death, he’d escaped before, whether through his own plans or some twist of fate he couldn’t control. 

When it came to Thanos, however, he had no illusions. His time at the hands of The Other, or Ebony Maw quickly put an end to that. He wanted a chance to prove he was more, and the Titan provided. 

He dreamed of Asgard before, the towering golden spires and grand palaces that filled his memories of easier days, before everything crumbled under the heat of Surtur’s flames. 

This was different. It _felt_ different, not the grandeur Asgard liked to drape itself in, the glittering majesty built on a history of bloodshed and lies. He could recognize them more easily now, even when the place itself was gone. 

Where he found himself now was not the ruined _Statesman_ , or somehow back on Sakaar. Nor was he on one of Thanos’ ships. 

Instead of metal and glass, all he could see was greenery. A carpet of grass shifted beneath his feet, a slight breeze weaving through the trees towering high above. A certain familiarity tickled at the back of his mind, as the air filled with the perfume of flowers, tuberose, hyacinth and the orchids native to Vanaheim. 

“Hello, dearheart.”

A sudden instinct tripped his heart into an accelerated beat, that same one that kept his voice from responding. There was Frigga, elegant and regal in her silver silks, hair plaited with lilies from the garden. 

Suddenly, Loki found himself without words, a silvertongue truly turned to lead as Volstagg once accused. Frigga held out her hands, beckoning him forward with a gentle smile. It wasn’t even conscious, the decision to move. One moment, he was Loki, god of mischief and lies, cleverest of sorcerers, and the next, he was a child again, arms around his mother, hoping she would keep him in this embrace forever. 

“Amma,” he murmured, hating the shudder in his voice, although he couldn’t help but cling tighter. 

“My brave magpie-child. I’m so glad to see you again.” A hand smoothed over his hair, the same way Frigga did so many times through his childhood, whether after nightmares or a fight with Thor. If this was what awaited him now, it would be more than enough, more than he deserved. 

_I’m sorry._

It was an intrusion no softer than a whisper, heralded by a ribbon of scarlet held aloft by the breeze. Loki’s magic reacted before he could, the green shimmer of his seiðr reaching out to meet it. It fractured the scene around him, leaving shards of metaphysical glass in its wake. They stuck fast in his heart, leaving fire and anger and agony behind. 

After everything, he couldn’t have this either. He wasn’t worthy of his mother’s love, even in death. He closed his eyes, almost ready for whatever came next, whatever punishment was in store. 

_You’re angry. I don’t blame you, the Soul Stone did the same to me._

It was a woman’s voice, slightly accented and tentative as if she expected him to lash out. For a moment, Loki wanted to, he dearly wanted to bring down the full force of his magic on whoever dragged him from this happiness, however false, however brief. 

He blinked, sat up with an awful ache in his head, water beading off the leather of his armor and dripping from the ends of his hair. A young woman crouched beside him, traces of magic still drifting from her fingers. Scarlet light glowed around them, the embers of a slowly dying fire tingeing the water. 

“ _Why_ did you do that?” The fury in his voice made her wince, as well it should. He should kill the little witch for what she did. Even if it was an illusion, it was better than this. 

“I’m so sorry,’ she replied, real regret in her voice. “It was cruel of the stone and cruel of me. But I needed someone to help.”

He considered her for a moment, allowing his seiðr to inform him of the girl’s magic. She was powerful, the scarlet at her command could feed this place for millennia, or destroy it in seconds. But it was her gaze, solid and determined and unafraid, that did more to convince him. 

Loki fixed her with a look, half appraising, half derisive. “And why in the Nine would you want my help?”

Carefully extending a hand, she let another wisp of magic settle in her palm, shimmering in the reflection of the water and the sky above them. 

“I think my magic found you for a reason. That we can do something to break this place. To stop Thanos. I can’t do this on my own. Will you help me?”

A little witch, full of untapped potential and the desire to stop Thanos? Loki would be a fool not to at least stay close, to see what this girl would do. He summoned his magic, a pale green contrasting her deep red, and took her hand. 

“I take it you already know who I am.”

“I do. You can call me Wanda.”

“Well then, Wanda. Shall we see who else we can find?”


End file.
